The “Blues” were superior at home with 5:4 (3:2, 1:2, 1:0), scoring the winning goal nine seconds before the end of regular time.
Vilmanis assisted in the first goal in the fourth minute of the match, and Balinskis helped to make it 2:2 in the tenth minute.
Vilmanis was on the court for a total of eight minutes and 32 seconds, during which he lost the puck once, gave an assist and ended the match with a positive efficiency coefficient of +1.
In his NHL debut season, the 22-year-old Latvian forward played ten games in which he scored three (1+2) points and had a positive efficiency coefficient of +1.
Meanwhile, Balinski played 20 minutes and 43 seconds, five minutes and 45 seconds of which he spent on the court in the majority. The defender made three shots in the goal frame in the allotted time, used three power plays, took and lost the puck once, gave an assist, blocked one shot and ended the match with a negative efficiency coefficient of -2.
This season, Balinskis played in 44 games, where he collected 11 (3+8) points and a negative efficiency coefficient of -8.
Matthew Tkaczak scored two goals for the “Panthers” on Thursday, he also had an assist on his account, Sam Bennett collected 1+1, and another accurate shot was scored by Anthony John Greer.
Jordan Kairou stood out for the home team with 1+2, but one accurate shot was scored by Jonathan Bergren, Jake Neibors, Oskar Sundqvist and Jimmy Snagerud.
The “Panthers”, the champion of the last two years, are in ninth position in the Eastern Conference with 59 points in 53 games and will play their next match on Saturday evening, Latvian time, when they host the Winnipeg “Jets” team.
